Desire for affirmation

I have been thinking about the human mind and the desire for affirmation. When  you find out that someone else listens to the same music as you, or is studying the same subject in school as you are, there is certainly a feeling of instant connection; of feeling like "they understand me, they can relate to me." However, for me at least, there is also a sense that if someone else is doing what you are doing or has the same likes or dislikes then you have it right. There is a sense of affirmation of what you believe when someone else agrees with what you believe. It gives on an inner sense that if someone else believes the same thing, then I can not possibly be that far off the rocker. 

Thus, when you enter an environment with people who hold different beliefs than you, it calls into question your own foundational truths. Such questioning can be dangerous to a person whose foundation is not solid. However, to the person with solid foundation, questioning of beliefs will result in beauty, clarity, and growth. 

I have been surrounded by Christians my entire life. From my home life, to my best friends growing up, to my music choices, to my life with The Lord now in College, the idea and affirmation of Jesus has been very present. Of course I have encountered non-believers in my 21 years of life, but my core group of friends have always been believers. Even living in the Bible Belt, almost everyone is pretty tolerant and accepting of Christianity. It is easy to take things for truth when mostly everyone around you also believes it to be true. 

My relationship with The Lord has changed me. He has shown me love, given me hope, provided me with clarity and sanity. He has given me a quiet heart when the world has no reason to think that I should not be yelling. But how do I explain that to anyone whose foundational truths are different? I do not feel like I need to have all the answers, but I also do not want to believe anything because that is what I was taught. I want to believe due to my own experiences. 

The past 4 or so years of my life have been just that: learning about the character of our Creator for myself instead of being spoon-fed what others hold as truth. This summer is only a different season of challenging what I believe, and slowly changing the sandy foundation into one of stone. I have been so blessed with the special, special environment God has placed me in at Texas A&M, but I might not always be there. I am learning to hear from our sweet Lord, understand Jesus, and feel the presence of the Holy Spirit when no one around me can relate to the truths in my life. 

Arise, oh Lord, lift up your eyes. Don't forget I'm helpless.

You lead me to waters and pastures so green.

You pour out your oil and choose goodness and mercy for me.

Prayers for revelation. 

Back in time

Liebe Freunde und Familie,

I have been spending the last week getting settled into my study abroad group, my new apartment for the next two months, and my class. There are probably 75 or so total students participating in the Summer University program for international students (weird to think of myself as a foreigner). Only 5 of those students used API as their vehicle to get here. So the 5 of us go on excursions both with our Summer Uni class and with API. Before classes started on Monday, the 5 of us spent a good time getting to know the city a little better.

Berlin is very big. It is split up into several different neighborhoods, each one of them different from the next. I am not sure if I will ever get tired of exploring this city. Our student housing is in old East Berlin. And it LOOKS that way. We keep joking about feeling like we have been thrown back in time. Our housing is block style, and the whole area in which we live is really kind of depressing. When our taxi driver first dropped us of here with all of our luggage he said, "don't ever live here, I would rather rent a hostel in the city, there is nothing to do here." hah. Needless to say, we only really sleep here and that is all.

We live in the epitome of East Berlin.

On Monday, we had a language placement test, a tour of campus, and they took us on a long boat tour of Berlin. The boat ended up being really hot and kind of too long, and the tour guide spoke completely in German. So after three hours, I was ready to leave. Berlin is experiencing this massive heat wave right now, so it has been pretty hot all week. (By hot, I mean like, 95). It is interesting because all of the people I am with have obviously never experienced a Texas summer. Everyone keeps exclaiming about how hot it is outside. I do not mind the outside heat too much because I am used to it. However, most of the buildings do not have air conditioning, so that is what gets me. Neither our apartment nor our school classrooms have either air conditioning or fans.

My study abroad group

Mauer Park- longest remaining portion of the wall

The t.v. tower seems to arrange itself perfectly in every view of Berlin

First day of class- boat tour. I could get used to this.

So much has happened this week, I am not entirely sure what to write about.  So I will just point out a few interesting things:

1. I have gotten decent at converting celsius to Fahrenheit and vice versa. Because NO ONE in this world uses fahrenheit except for us. 

2. Germans are very proud of their bread, and rightly so. The streets in Berlin have a bakery on every corner where you can find pastries, loaves, sandwiches. OH the sandwiches. Nothing has preservatives, so it is baked fresh daily. 

3. Germans are rule followers. Something funny which I noticed almost right away is that at crosswalks, if there are NO cars for miles, but the walk sign is not on, Germans WILL NOT cross the street. And if you do, you will be looked at as if you were a criminal. 

Thats all I will write today because I do not want to make this post too long. Jesus is teaching me things, but I will save that for next time!

Fresh Start

Liebe Freunde und Familie,

We arrived in Berlin yesterday. Out of all the place we have been, Berlin definitely seems the most like home. I feel kind of like I am visiting an American city to which I have never before been, and everyone just happens to speak German.

I will say, we fit in much better here than we did in Greece or Rome. Almost everyone we talk to starts off talking to us in German until they see the confused looks on our faces. I have tried a couple of times to speak or ask for something in German, but soon as they notice my accent and poor grammar, they just switch to English. I guess I better start saying, "No English, please" if I want to learn anything. 

Dad and I were supposed to do a bike tour today, but he woke up sick so I am doing a little exploring on my own. So far I have figured out how to buy a public transportation ticket (it took a while, but I eventually got it), seen the Brandenburg Gate, and I am currently sitting in the Tiergarten (Berlin's version of Central Park). My computer is still not working, so I cannot upload pictures to the blog. However, I will try to upload a couple to facebook through my iPad. 

A few fun facts about Berlin so far:

- last night it did not get dark until 10:30

- Everyone bikes. I think I have seen more bicycles than cars.

- As far as stereotypes go, I have not encountered any more rude or angry people than I normally would in any other city. 

It is a bummer that Dad was sick, but I have not had a good opportunity to spend some alone time with Jesus, so I took advantage of the time to myself. I was reading in Genesis 1 (as I start fresh here in Berlin, where better to read than at the beginning?), and I just could not stop reading verse 16. It goes like this:

"God made two great lights, the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night..." 

Yes, he is literally speaking of the sun and moon here. But thats not all. I love the way God expresses himself and reflects his personality through nature. Each year, flowers are reborn to their original beauty in the spring. The ocean is vast, strong, and not entirely capable of being understood-much like our Heavenly Father. Similar to these analogies, I find it significant that during the creation story, since the very beginning, God has chosen to never leave us in darkness. Even what we call "darkness" is not completely dark. There is a lesser light, yes. But the night is meant to refresh us. The "darkness" is for our good, and even then, we are never left alone.

History Lesson

       My computer is currently out of commission, so I am unable to upload the pictures that we have taken the past couple of days. I still have my iPad, but it does not have the USB port I need to upload pictures. I know I have trouble paying attention to blogs that do not have pictures, so bare with me.

        Both yesterday and today have been full of history. Yesterday morning, we took a walking tour of Rome. This tour included many sights which we had already seen, but we had not known the history behind all of the fantastic monuments, churches, and other buildings we had been seeing. Rome really is incredible. It has been built and re-built, layer after layer. Ancient Rome is about 8 meters below the ground of the modern city. Much of the ancient city has been excavated bit by bit. However, it must be filled back in before moving on to another section or the modern city would collapse. We have listened to hours and hours of facts, so I will spare you most of it and only share a couple of highlights.

The pantheon (about a two minute walk from where we are staying) used to be a pagan temple, but was converted to a Church under some Pope (I do not remember which one). The coolest part is this hole in its roof. The hole (intentionally built this way) is not covered with glass, but is open to the air outside. Naturally, you would think, "what happens when it rains?" Well, that is the cool part. The air pressure inside the structure presses against the rain drops coming in through the hole and turns to humidity before water is able to hit the ground. So after thousands of years of the Pantheon still being around, there is no sign of water damage under the hole in the roof.

Today we spent the whole day at the Vatican. I could write for hours about all of the complexities of the palace, the Sistene Chapel, St. Peter's Basilica, and everything underneath. The most interesting part of the day was the Scavi tour. Dad booked these tickets months ago for us to be able to get in. They only allow 250 people in a day, so it fills up quickly. St. Peter's Basilica sits on top of the old Basilica built under Constantine in 4th c A.D. Under Constantine's Basilica is an ancient cemetery which holds the tomb of the apostle, Peter. A.k.a. the best friend of Jesus.

The Eternal City vs. The Eternal Kingdom

Rome (nicknamed “The Eternal City”) is home to over 900 operating Catholic churches. Walking through the streets, that high number comes as no surprise. Dad and I decided it might be cool to attend a service while we were here in the Mecca of Catholicism. It just so happens that a church just a few blocks from where we are staying, San Silvestro in Capite, houses the head of John the Baptist as a relic in their church. Naturally, this is church we decided to visit this morning. When you walk in the main doors, there is a little chapel to the left, which is home to this:

Inside that gold box is what remains of the head of John the Baptist

Pretty impressive, right? Now, there is some debate between Muslims and Christians whether this is truly the actual head of John the Baptist, but it is still cool to think that that could be it. After mass ended, we found this and Dad promised that he would buy me a BMW for graduation:

It had only three wheels. Pretty cool!

In the afternoon, we decided to visit Palatino, the Forum, and the Coliseum. We got so lost walking there, we probably walked an unnecessary additional two or three miles just trying to find the entrance to Palatine Hill. I joked to dad that the saying “All roads lead to Rome” should be revised to, “All roads lead to Rome, but once you get there, you are out of luck.”

On Palatine Hill (a.k.a. the rich neighborhood of Rome starting in 500 B.C.)

Palatino

Colliseum

The Colliseum is 50 meters tall! Kyle Field is only 34 meters tall, to give you a frame of reference.

Dad told me to give and thumbs up and that means the Gladiator can live.

I have been failing to remember to take pictures of my meals the past couple of days. I think it is because everything looks so good, I just get too anxious to eat everything (good news—my appetite is back!). But here is the couple that I remembered to take today:

Limoncello was a lot stronger than expected.

Second round of Gelato in 24 hours. We had to get back all of those calories we burned while walking so much today.

Since arriving in Rome yesterday, we have made our way in and out of several churches. Some of them we enter sell audio players, there are masses of people snapping photos, on-lookers are gawking at the ornate architecture and detailed artwork. I cannot help but think about the passage in John 2 where Jesus becomes enraged at the temple being used for anything but worship. This, and the fact that only roughly 1/3 of the people in this country claim to be “practicing” Christians, makes most of the ornate churches seem like shells. Empty. Hollow. The city is stunning, historical, and I have never seen anything like it. However, the lack of God’s presence in the midst of all of the architectural marvels has made me even more excited for the heavenly kingdom which is to come. How much more beautiful will the kingdom of God be? Rome will seem like burnt McDonald’s coffee next to Italian espresso when compared to the Eternal Kingdom.

“Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away” Matt 24:35

“And he carried me away in the Spirit to a mountain great and high, and showed me the Holy City, Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God. It shone with the glory of God, and its brilliance was like that of a very precious jewel, like a jasper, clear as a crystal.” Rev. 21:10-11  

A few fun facts to round out my post:

1)      Apparently Italians like their extra large water bottles.

2)      I’ve decided that Italian men derived their hairstyles from Jimmy Neutron.

3)      Every time I visit a public restroom, it is an adventure trying to figure out how to work the toilets and sinks. The most common thing I have come across is that apparently it is completely normal to not put a toilet seat on the toilet? Almost every restroom (or shall I say Water Closet?) I have come across since being in Italy—and even some in Athens—have been sans toilet seat.

4)      I’m not sure how to explain this one.  

From Athina to Roma

The last two days have been exhausting. I have had a hard time fighting jet lag and loss of appetite. Last summer, I lived in Colorado for eleven weeks and I remember not having an appetite for the first week or two as I adjusted to the new living situations and diet. I guess this is more of the same kind of adjustment, so it has been really hard for me to eat anything without feeling sick. Also, I feel really tired around mid-morning and early afternoon, and then once night time hits I feel much more energized so I have only been sleeping a few hours per night. I guess this is all part of the adjustment.

Yesterday was our last day in Athens. We climbed (or rode, rather) to the highest point in the city (Mt. Lycabettus), where there was a small church and a look-out area at which you could see all of Athens.

The ride up the mountain was terrifying. We sat in this little tram which proceeded to take us up the mountain at around 2 mph at a very steep angle. I hated it, so we decided to walk down instead of taking the tram again.

We went to lunch and decided to split the most stereotypical Greek menu item we could find…how did we do?

Dad has an old childhood friend who now lives in Athens. Dad has not seen him for thirty or so years, so his friend (Craig) wanted to take us out of that NesFrappe I had been so badly wanting to try, and to dinner. Craig picked us up in the city center, and drove us to the suburbs of Athens where he lives. We sat at a café overlooking the Aegean Sea and drank our coffees while Craig and Dad chatted about the aerospace industry (I had a lot to add to that conversation).

I need to make the rest of this post short because we are about to head out again. We flew to Rome the next morning and let me tell you, it is both stunning and impressive. Every other corner we turn has a several hundred or thousand year-old church at its corner. We are staying directly down the street from the Pantheon, and we are going to church this morning at a church which is known to have the head of John the Baptist as a relic. The area in which we are staying was built before the coliseum was even made. There is so much history here, and so many of these buildings are so well preserved.

             

Spanish Steps, it was so crowded. 

Trevi Fountain

View from our room window

Trevi at night

Prayer requests: That I continue to re-gain my appetite (I think being in Italy has been helping!) and to sleep more than I have been sleeping. Also, for safe flights and travels for the rest of our trip.

αΓ Nektarious and the Island of Aegina

Thursday we spent the day on the Greek island of Aegina. Aegina is about an hour and a half ferry ride off the coast of Athens into the Mediterranean Sea. Dad is always prepared for vacations and trips and he does a lot of research before hand, so that we can make it through with as little glitches as possible. So, thinking ahead, he researched which ferry would take us to Aegina. He found that a “red ferry” was the right one to take. On the way to the port, there was a whole line of shops that sold ferry tickets. Let me tell you something else about the Greeks: they are adamant salesmen. Every shop we walk past has people outside trying to get you (in broken English) to come inside and buy something. This line of ferry ticket shops was no different. This guy wrangled us in by telling us that we should ride their ferry because they are an “American company.” Like that was supposed to be some sort of selling point or something. He then proceeded to tell us that he was from Seattle (yeah, right). Anyway, so he points to a picture of this red ferry they have and said, “yeah, yeah we’ve got this red one.” So we bought our tickets for a ferry that didn’t leave for another hour. There was only one red ferry in the harbor (the names of the ships were all in Greek, so we couldn’t figure out exactly which ferry was supposed to be ours based on anything other than that it was supposed to be red).

We waited and waited to board the ferry, which was scheduled to leave at 12:15. It started to get closer and closer to 12:15, and the red ferry didn’t seem like it was going anywhere anytime soon. Around 12:10, we decided to get up and walk a little further down the port. I was looking at our tickets, trying to match the letters to the Greek letters that were on the ships. The one we were supposed to board was called the A.G. Nektarious. I looked up and saw a ship that began with “αΓ” (alpha gamma- I recognized gamma thanks to you, Emily!), which was boarding people and cars and dad and I finally realized that was our ferry! We ended up boarding about a minute before it was scheduled to leave.

The view from our seat:

Aegina from the coast of Athens:

On the port of Aegina:

For lunch, we stopped at a seafood café. Every public place we go, we keep seeing people with the same coffee drink that looks like this:

We asked a couple on the ferry what it was called, and they told us it was called Nescafe, so I decided to order one at the café at which we ate lunch. And this is what the waiter brought out:

Turns out what he brought was a Nescafe, and what I needed to order was a NesFrappe. Ah, I will get one before we leave! I ordered some shrimp pasta for lunch:

Our waiter did not speak very good English, and after our meal was over he looked at dad and said, “Coffee for me? Coffee for me? For free?” We figured he was probably asking if we wanted some coffee from him, on the house. We said no, and a couple of minutes later he comes out with two glasses of Ouzo, instead. Ouzo is a Greek liquor that tastes like licorice.

I didn’t really care for it, so I drank half of it and gave the rest to dad. Next, we rented a scooter, drove down the road a while, and found a nice little beach to enjoy.

We were about to run out of gas, so we stopped at the closest gas station we could find. You cannot pay for the gas with a credit card, but the gas station attendant was nowhere to be found. It appeared that whoever own the gas station also lived there. We knocked on the door, waited a while, and were about to give up when a Greek man in shorts and a wife beater came out of the house, rubbing his eyes. I guess we must have woken him up from his siesta. Oops. But we were able to get some gas and be on our way.

Our plan was to circle the entire island on the scooter, but it took much longer than we expected so we had to turn back around and go back the way we came. By the time we got back to the port area, it was almost time to catch our ferry back.

Once we got back to Athens, we found a place to eat before coming back to the room to hit the sack.